How To Make Cold Brew Coffee

If you crave a good iced coffee in the summer, but loathe the way so many end up tasting watery or overly bitter, then there’s only one solution: cold brew coffee. This method guarantees a smooth and icy cup, every time.

Making cold brew coffee is no great secret, nor does it require the ninja-level skills of a trained barista in order to master. You don’t even need much special equipment beyond a large container for making the coffee and a strainer.

Here’s how it works: Grind the coffee coarsely, which you can do yourself at home or wherever you buy the beans. Combine the grounds with water, then let it steep overnight, or for around 12 hours.

During this time, the coffee slowly infuses into the water, creating a strong, concentrated brew. Strain the next morning, and you’re ready to go.

This coffee-making method has a few things going for it. The slow infusion pulls all the great coffee flavor from the beans (and, yes, the caffeine – not to worry!), but leaves behind most of the compounds that can make coffee taste bitter and sour. Cold brewed coffee is incredibly smooth and almost sweet-tasting. Perfect for iced coffee.

You can also adjust the concentration of your cold brew coffee, making it stronger or less strong to suit your taste. Start with one cup of beans steeped in four cups of water. This will make a fairly concentrated coffee on its own, but it’s perfect for pouring over ice or mixing with milk – or both. If that ratio of beans to water isn’t quite to your taste, adjust it up or down until you hit the perfect balance for you.

I also really love that this method for making coffee actually saves me time in the morning. I make a big batch over the weekend, starting it on Saturday or Sunday night and straining it the next morning, and then stash it in the fridge for an easy coffee fix all week long.

Cold brewed coffee can be served iced or piping hot, dealer’s choice. You follow the same method for making the coffee either way, and then either serve it over ice or warm it up in the microwave for a hot cup. When warming it for hot coffee, I often add a splash of water to dilute the coffee before warming. But this, again, is a matter of personal taste.

Ready to give cold brew coffee a try? Below is everything you need to know to make your own batch at home.

Tips for Success

Make sure your beans are coarsely ground: Beans that are ground to a sandy powder, like for drip coffee, can result in an over-infused coffee and make the strained coffee gritty and muddy. Your beans should look like coarse cornmeal, or even slightly rougher.

Use filtered water, if possible: This is just good coffee advice in general, really. Your cup of coffee will have a cleaner, sweeter flavor if you use filtered water to make it.

Steep for at least 12 hours: It’s fine to cut this time a little short, but don’t get too stingy. The coffee needs this full time to fully infuse the water. Straining too early can give you a weaker cup of coffee. Also be careful of over-steeping, which can start to extract some of those bitter flavors we’re hoping to avoid. I’d say not to steep for more than 15 hours or so.

Method

1 Coarsely grind the coffee: Grind the coffee beans on the coarsest setting on your grinder, or in short 1-second pulses in a spice grinder. The grounds should look like coarse cornmeal, not fine powder. You should have just under 1 cup of grounds.

2 Combine the coffee and the water: Transfer the coffee grounds to the container you're using to make the cold brew. Pour the water over top. Stir gently with a long-handled spoon to make sure the grounds are thoroughly saturated with water.

3 Steep overnight: Cover the jar with a lid or a small plate to protect it from dust and bugs. Let the coffee steep for about 12 hours. The coffee can be left on the counter or refrigerated; steeping time is the same.

4 Strain the coffee: Line a small strainer with cheesecloth or flour sack cloth and place over a large measuring cup or bowl. Pour the coffee through the strainer.

5 Store the coffee: Transfer the coffee to a small bottle or jar and store in the fridge for up to a week.

6 Serve the coffee: Dilute the coffee with as much water or milk as you prefer. Serve over ice or warm for a few minutes in the microwave.

Hello! All photos and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our photos without prior written permission. If you wish to republish this recipe, please rewrite the recipe in your own unique words and link back to How To Make Cold Brew Coffee on Simply Recipes. Thank you!

Emma Christensen is a food writer, editor, and homebrewing expert. She was formerly the recipe editor for The Kitchn and is the author of two cookbooks, True Brews and Brew Better Beer. Emma is a graduate of The Cambridge School for Culinary Arts and Bryn Mawr College. She lives in San Jose, California.

Showing 4 of 33 Comments

Jacky

thanks for this recipe, i’m steeping my coffee right now! i work at starbucks, and since we get a free bag of coffee every week i’ve been wanting to try some of the seasonal brews out, but some of them are too acidic for me! (i have really bad reflux so a lot of the brews that we have hurt my stomach a lot) i heard that brewing your coffee over night takes a lot of the acidity out, so i’m hoping this works!

October 28, 2016

Jill

I actually bought one of these at Walmart for about $13. I then use a large mason jar from leftover canning stuff to steep the grounds and water for the 12 hours. Then I pour that mixture through the reusable filter in the primula to filter out the grounds and then it’s in my pitcher to store in the frig & dispense.

I love ice coffee! I use this method except that I tie the course ground coffee loosely in cheese cloth and tie tightly with string then put it in the water to steep. That way there is no need to strain the grounds out of the coffee before drinking it.

“I make a big batch over the weekend, starting it on Saturday or Sunday night and straining it the next morning, and then stash it in the fridge for an easy coffee fix all week long.”
I would need to buy a walk in fridge to do that .. lol !!!!
Interesting way of doing it, going to try today, thanks for the idea ;)